Y2K survey finds one-third of providers haven’t tested
Most MCOs will be set for millennium change
Ensuring that computer systems are prepared for the year 2000 (Y2K) is a critical challenge for the entire health care industry, and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has conducted several surveys to determine how ready providers and managed care organizations (MCOs) are.
The latest one, conducted in July, indicates that most groups are making significant progress toward being ready. But at survey time, some still hadn’t taken the needed steps to make sure their computer systems — especially relating to testing, contingency planning, medical equipment, and ensuring compliance with external business partners — were going to be up and running with the new year.
Federal letter sent to providers
The most recent government appeal for Y2K action to date occurred in early November when about 1.3 million health care providers received a joint letter from the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion and the Department of Health and Human Services urging continued Y2K preparation efforts.
The letter contains eight recommendations for health care providers to follow, including checking the compliance status of medical devices and contacting fiscal intermediaries to ensure the readiness of billing systems.
"Preparedness is especially important for providers of health care in rural or other medically underserved areas, since any disruption of service could have serious consequences for patients with few or no other options for obtaining care," the letter states.
Two-thirds of providers report readiness
Among the fee-for-service providers OIG surveyed were acute care hospitals, nursing facilities, home health agencies, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, and physicians. About two-thirds of Medicare fee-for-service providers reported that their billing and medical records systems were Y2K-ready.
Almost all providers expected their billing and medical records systems to be fully ready by the end of 1999. However, at least one-third of providers reported that they had not yet tested the readiness of those systems. Furthermore, many providers had not tested data exchanges with vendors and contractors.
Even fewer fee-for-service providers reported that their biomedical equipment was Y2K-ready. Less than half of providers reported that all of their biomedical equipment was Y2K-ready. However, most providers expected that equipment to be completely ready by the end of the year. Hospitals were the most likely of the provider groups to report that they had tested their equipment. The majority of providers indicated that they were relying on the manufacturers of their biomedical equipment to provide Y2K information.
Among MCOs, the latest survey reports that 85% said they were Y2K-ready, although 9% had yet to complete testing. Ninety-four percent of managed care organizations reported that vendor-supported products, such as hardware, telecommunications, and embedded processors, were compliant. Almost all managed care organizations had established recommended infrastructures in preparation for Y2K testing, but most had not contracted out for independent assessment of Y2K readiness.
Half of the MCOs indicated they were making sure their external partners were compliant, and 80% had developed contingency plans. That is up about 10% from the survey conducted in the spring. More than a quarter had tested those contingency plans.
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) required MCOs to submit their plans for review of content and feasibility of implementation. According to the HCFA review, 33% of the contingency plans submitted as of August 1999 required little or no modification, while 67% needed major or complete revision.
OIG pushes testing data exchanges
As HCFA and provider associations continue their outreach and education initiatives, the OIG suggests they focus on emphasizing the need to test data exchanges, as well as internal computer systems, stressing the importance of contingency planning, and publicizing Web sites where Y2K information is available.
With only a month left until the year 2000 arrives, it is increasingly important that HCFA, provider associations, and the providers themselves work together to ensure that beneficiaries will continue to receive uninterrupted quality care.
The two OIG inspection reports — Y2K Readiness of Medicare Fee-for-Service Providers as of July 1999 (OEI-03-98-00253) and Y2K Readiness of Managed Care Organizations as of July 1999 (OEI-05-98-00591) — detailing the survey results are available on the Office of Inspector General’s Web site at www.hhs.gov/oig. Click on the "What’s New" link to access the reports.
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